


True Happiness

by samariumwriting



Series: Dimidue Week [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Dimidue Week 2019, Established Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, Implied Relationships, M/M, Marriage, Nonbinary My Unit | Byleth, alcohol mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-09-27 05:17:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20402302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samariumwriting/pseuds/samariumwriting
Summary: Dimitri was nervous about marrying Dedue. Of course he was. But not in a bad way - he just wanted it to be a truly happy moment for the both of them. And that was exactly what the day was.





	1. Marriage

**Author's Note:**

> You ever write something so gay it brings you to tears bc I sure as heck did today  
The first part of this is for day two of Dimidue Week, using the prompt of marriage. The second part will be for the final day, with the prompt of celebration!
> 
> (Also just a notice that there are some references to things that are spoilers for the Blue Lions route within. They're not detailed, but just be warned)

Dimitri would freely admit to being nervous. Why wouldn’t he be nervous? This was important. Maybe not on a ‘saving Fódlan from a woman who will stop at nothing to get her way’ level, but he could do that one. That was no problem at all. This, though? He had no idea how to do this.

It wasn’t even like he was doing most of the work. Dedue was preparing the decorations, making sure the cooks had everything they needed for the food. Dedue had even helped him write the invitations to all their closest friends, and helped manage their transport and when they would be staying, for how long, and where.

Basically, Dedue had done everything and Dimitri was still nervous. There was nothing that could really go wrong, of course, on a practical level. Dedue had organised it, and he was the most efficient person Dimitri knew. He was so practical and so good at everything under the sun that there was nothing that could feasibly make a day that was meant to be so happy into a disaster.

No, the only thing that could even potentially go wrong was if Dimitri did something wrong in the service itself. What if, on the appointed day at the appointed time, he felt...as if he couldn’t do it. As if he couldn’t allow Dedue to settle for him when he deserved the world. He had his misgivings and always would about Dedue choosing to settle down with him. He wanted nothing more, of course, and could never ask for anyone better, but Dedue deserved better.

They’d had this discussion a thousand times over, and Dimitri would always respect his...his fiance's (it wasn’t that he hesitated over the issue. It was still so hard to believe and gave him pause every time) wishes. He had no right to question Dedue’s love for him. But he couldn’t stop himself.

He just needed to keep his own feelings of affection and Dedue’s in mind. Logically, he could do that. He had the vows written and half memorised, having been hopelessly dreaming of this day for longer than he wanted to admit. He was worried that his voice would stumble or crack, but he knew that this was right. He knew that this was the best, for both of them, or it was at least what Dedue wanted. And if Dedue thought that marrying Dimitri was best for him, well then who was he to question that judgement?

He could barely sleep the night before the ceremony. He’d spent the evening with Sylvain and Felix (who Dimitri was surprised to discover were in fact not engaged, though he imagined that was only a matter of time), who had ridden in that afternoon. Everyone had made it, bar their old teacher. Negotiations, they’d explained, were dragging on far longer with the Almyrans than they had expected. Speaking of, the response to his invitation to Claude - not that Dimitri had expected him to attend, given the distance and their relative lack of familiarity - had never arrived. Byleth expected to make it late, if at all, but they promised to come to congratulate them as soon as they were next available.

Sleep did not come easily, despite the bottle of wine that had been consumed between the three of them. He was unable to take his mind off how monumental the coming day would be. Everything was ready. He’d eat his breakfast in his rooms and get into the nice clothes (not full royal regalia - this was not a royal wedding, just...a ceremony for friends. A royal wedding and an heir was a problem for another time) he’d picked out.

But he did manage to seep, fitfully, waking every few hours and being completely unable to sleep after about six in the morning. He didn’t feel all that rested, but he’d been in bed for seven hours and that was what mattered in this case. He couldn’t sit still for any longer.

Usually when he felt restless, he’d take the issue up with his lance and stab training dummies until he felt a little more at ease. But he also knew that was unhealthy for a king; he was no longer a warrior, and if he could only be at ease with a lance in his hands then he was likely not fit to be king of a peaceful Fódlan at all.

As such, he didn’t take up his lance to dispel his worries. He wasn’t really meant to be working that day, because it was a day of celebration, but it was early in the morning. He wouldn’t be eating until eight and the ceremony itself didn’t begin for hours after that (specifically it didn’t begin until at least eleven, and even then he’d given everyone involved instructions that it would not begin until Annette arrived from teaching her morning classes at the academy).

Besides, he had a stack of papers for circumstances just like this. Easy tasks, that did not require any composition or writing, just reading and a signature. If he could work away at such a mindless task until he was calm and had other things to attend to, then he would be fine and the day could continue as planned. He considered himself very lucky that the day was a good one for him, rather than bad. He would have felt terrible, facing Dedue in a new step in their future together when the past was dragging him backwards all the while.

Time raced on, though not nearly fast enough for Dimitri’s tastes. The gap in time between his breakfast (simple but filling, considering he would next be eating once the ceremony was over) and eleven was agonising. He had visitors, of course; all his friends came over to wish him well, wish him luck, though they all emphasised he didn’t need it. Each time, he asked them if they’d seen Dedue, and most replied to the affirmative. The answer was always accompanied by an easy smile, fond. Like they knew it was coming. Felix also followed it up by saying he grinned like a fool when he was in love, but Dimitri was sure to respond in kind about the way he tended to look at Sylvain. Seeing Felix blush and splutter was always worth it.

Once the clock ticked past the tenth hour, he started getting ready properly. The clothing he had chosen alongside Dedue was a lighter blue than he normally wore, less regal. It fit well, but wearing it made him feel rather nervous. He’d only tried it properly once, when it had arrived from the tailor, and it was...it was difficult to describe his feelings. He was going to get married in this outfit. He was going to stand in front of the man he would spend the rest of his life alongside (though even without marriage that was beyond doubt) and declare his love in front of all of his friends.

He wasn’t used to expressing his feelings so openly. Even with Dedue, they so rarely spoke openly about their affection for one another. They spoke through actions, shared moments, constant companionship. Dimitri felt like any words that came out of his mouth would sound forced, or insincere. He was no stellar public speaker, even with a small group of friends. This would be a challenge beyond any other he’d faced alongside Dedue, and they’d faced down near unimaginable terrors together.

But finally the time came. In both Fódlan and Duscur’s marriage traditions, the bride was walked into the ceremony by her father. For the two of them there was no bride, no father. Dimitri had once imagined that Rodrigue would be the parent at his wedding. Now? Perhaps Gilbert. Perhaps no one at all. It was something he and Dedue had discussed at length. They did not want to abandon old traditions, but their union was unusual. So instead, they approached the castle’s chapel from opposite directions. Dedue walked with Ashe, and Dimitri with Felix. 

Dimitri hadn't even realised how far away his thoughts were until his gaze met Dedue. He was...Dimitri had never been one to compliment on physical appearance. When he had realised his feelings for Dedue, appearance didn’t come into it at all. But seeing the gentle, almost excited smile on Dedue’s face damn near took his breath away. He smiled, and Dedue’s smile only brightened in return.

“You are such a sap,” Felix mumbled. “Keep moving, go on, or you’ll never stop grinning at each other like fools.”

Dimitri chuckled. “Perhaps you’re right,” he said, not voicing the thought that he would very happily stay in this single moment for the rest of his life. Felix would never let him forget it if he did.

They walked into the chapel together as someone played the organ at the far end. This part mostly took cues from the usual Fódlan ceremony, but once it actually began, Mercedes would be conducting the service in both traditions. It was unorthodox, perhaps nearly unheard of in Faerghus and definitely something that had never been done in this chapel, but Dimitri didn’t care about breaking that particular tradition. Dedue hadn’t outright said he wanted it, but...the way he’d lit up when Dimitri had suggested the combination of the two, he knew it was what he wanted.

Dimitri scanned the assembled group. There was Shamir, who’d been hard to find, and Hanneman and Manuela sat on opposite sides of the same pew. Lysithea and Ignatz had come over from the Alliance, and there was Dorothea, right alongside Petra and Cyril. Annette had made it of course, and Gilbert was sat a short distance from her. Sylvain and Ingrid were watching them, huge smiles on their faces. And there, right at the back, were two people he had not been expecting to see at all. Their old teacher, right alongside Claude. When Dimitri made eye contact with Claude, all he received was the usual devious wink. Of course. Of course he’d have to make attending an old friend’s wedding a scheme. That was just like him.

Once they’d made it to where Mercedes was standing, the organ playing stopped and Felix and Ashe went to their seats. Finally, they stood facing one another. Dedue was also in blue; darker than the colour Dimitri was wearing, and with a cape draped over his shoulders. It was no longer odd to see him out of armour now the war was long behind them, but seeing him dressed like this was something else entirely. He’d gladly see Dedue wear nice clothing all the time, but those were probably not the kinds of thoughts he should be having (or at least taking any further) in a church, even if Dedue was about to be his husband.

“Beloved of the Goddess,” Mercedes started, “and all the deities the land over. Standing before us today are a pair seeking to be as one.” 

From there, the ceremony was largely one that Dimitri recognised. Prayers to the Goddess for the success of their union, prayer to the Duscur gods of the home and of love. Then came the vows. Dedue went first, and Dimitri could feel a blush on his face before the words even began.

“Dimitri,” he began. He never tired of hearing his name from Dedue’s mouth, even though it had been years since they had dispensed with all those formalities amongst friends. “Over a decade ago I made an oath to be by your side and repay the debt I owed to you. Now, with all the years we have spent together and those we regretfully spent apart, I now have an understanding of the meaningless nature of that promise. At the time, I had no knowledge of the boundless lengths of your kindness, the sincerity you bestow upon your every action.

"Perhaps there is no debt between us to be repaid, perhaps there never was one to begin with. But every second we have spent together since then has been progressing to his moment, where I will gladly make an oath of a very different kind, yet with nearly the same words. I, Dedue Molinaro, would love nothing more than to take you, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, as my husband. Through all the trials of land and sky, through struggles and through respite. I swear I shall be by your side as your constant companion for as long as I live.”

Dimitri had been so caught up watching Dedue that when he opened his mouth to speak, he realised his throat had stuck. He was...crying. Happy tears, cried for a day he never really dared hope would come. A day when someone could love him so deeply that he would swear something like that.

“An- and I, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, will return your vows,” he began. The rest of the promises came as naturally as breathing, despite the crackle in his voice and the tears in his eyes. “These are vows for a day I imagined for a long time would never come. It is only thanks to you, my beloved Dedue, that I was ever able to stand in front of you and say these words. I owe you more than I can express, and cherish you twice as much as that. Your kindness, your care, it has cut through every doubt I could ever have about this day. 

"It is my honour and my privilege to be able to call you even a friend, let alone a partner and soon as a husband. So I, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, can hope for nothing other than to take you, Dedue Molinaro, as my husband. Through every passing moment, both cursed and blessed, through all that may come to challenge or strengthen the bond between us. To the very end of my days and until my final breath, I shall be with you.”

When he managed to blink the tears away, he could see that Dedue was crying also. He wanted nothing more than to close the gap between them, wipe away those tears, but he knew he’d have to wait. Just a little longer, as Mercedes, also misty-eyed, brought their hands together and said another prayer for them. Then, effortlessly, she recited the ceremony conducted in Duscur, in just the way that Dimitri knew Dedue had taught her.

“I now pronounce you married, she said, “a union unbroken by nought but death. You may seal your union.” She had, Dimitri noticed, removed anything about an objection. He was glad, because he might have been unable to take the stress of a moment that would stretch on as he waited for anger he would rather ignore.

Without hesitation, Dimitri leaned in, standing just a little on his toes as Dedue ducked down just slightly to meet him in the middle. It was, quite frankly, the best moment of his life. He’d never even dreamed, never dared hope, that he’d reach a moment in his life where he could be so happy, his thoughts not tinged by guilt or sadness. Just him, Dedue, and his friends. It was perfect, so perfect, that he didn’t even care for the tears he shed in front of all those he was closest to. There was nothing he would do to change this moment. Nothing at all.

“I love you, Dedue,” he murmured, their faces still so close together that no one else would hear.

“I love you too, Dimitri.” Dedue replied. The small congregation burst into applause.


	2. Celebrations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was for the final prompt of Dimidue week, celebrations. It's a bit late, oops, but I'm glad I was able to complete a prompt for each day of this week! It was a joy.

“It was such a beautiful service,” Mercedes said. Barely an hour had passed between the wedding and that moment, and Dimitri was already starting to feel a little bit giddy. He hoped the alcohol they were being served wasn’t too strong, because he didn’t know a single member of his present company who was a functional drunk. “I think everyone cried. I know I did.”

“Ashe was definitely crying,” Annette confirmed. “And I think Father had tears in his eyes.”

“Felix was absolutely sniffling next to me,” Sylvain reported, with an absolutely gleeful grin on his face that only got wider when Felix made an indignant objection. Dimitri believed Sylvain’s story, honestly.

“Teach definitely cried,” Claude chipped in, only to receive a mildly annoyed look from the professor. “What? I gave you a handkerchief. I know you did.”

“Why did I even invite you?” they asked, a slightly despairing look on their face.

“You didn’t,” Dedue said. “We invited him. If Claude’s testimony is to be believed, however, you dragged him here when he was meant to be returning home because you thought it would be funny.”

A sly smile crept onto their face. Dimitri nearly sighed out of happiness; it had been far too long since he had last spent time with his teacher. “Perhaps I did,” they said, “but only because I never would have made it in time without Claude’s wyvern.”

“Did you fly into Fhirdiad on a white wyvern?” Annette asked, and the Professor nodded. “Goddess, my students would not shut up about seeing it. They kept talking about whether it was possible for wyverns to be white or not.”

“It’s only payback for when you all rushed to the windows after seeing snow for the first time in eight months,” they said mildly, and Dimitri couldn’t help but smile. That was so long ago, in such very different times. But just because it was long ago, and so many terrible things had happened since then did not mean that now was worse.

In fact, being surrounded by all his friends at such a happy occasion made this a much better time. “Well, in Faerghus it would have been snowing for two months already by that point,” Ingrid said.

“I know,” Byleth said with a chuckle. “It was funny, that’s all. You were all so sweet, and look at you now!” They swept their arms in a wide, clumsy circle (Dimitri, momentarily amused by the gesture, idly thought that he hadn’t seen the Professor this tipsy since their return to Fhirdiad during the war). “You’re all grown up. The first wedding. Who’ll be next?”

“Oh, oh!” Ashe said, suddenly jumping from his seat and rushing over to the small collection of wedding gifts. From within the pile, he grabbed a bunch of flowers. “The two of you should stand at the head of the table with your backs to us and throw the bouquet,” he said. “The person who catches it will get married next.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this next to a table with glasses on it,” Dedue suggested, greeted with a general murmur of agreement with a single note of dissent (Claude, who probably just wanted to watch the world burn in this particular instance). Dutifully, everyone shuffled round to an area with no physical barriers.

Dimitri was perhaps blushing a little as he took the bouquet from Ashe. This was a very...wedding thing to do. Of course, he had just gotten married, but this was different somehow. This was a cheesy couple thing. “Do you want to throw it?” he asked Dedue.

“I think you should,” he replied. “Unless you would like to throw it together.” Without another word, he put his hand around the stems of the flowers, his hand on top of Dimitri’s own. Behind them, Felix made a gagging noise, abruptly cut off when Ingrid hit him.

It took a moment to get it right and time it so they could throw at the same time, but when they did, it went soaring over their shoulders and into the small group beyond. Even before he turned around, he heard a shout of triumph from Annette accompanied by quite a few sighs of disappointment. “I got it!” she shouted.

Everyone could see how her eyes immediately fell on Mercedes before she hurriedly pulled them away, blushing profusely but still clutching the bunch of flowers. “Annette will marry next, then?” Gilbert said with a soft chuckle. He’d been quiet throughout the meal, but Dimitri personally thought he hadn’t seen him happier in years.

“It- it’s just a superstition, Father!” she said, looking decidedly flustered. He laughed again. “Besides, it’s obvious that Felix and Sylvain are getting married next. I don’t think they’ve been more than a metre apart since the service started.”

Felix and Sylvain, both blushing, moved to opposite sides of the room, Felix glaring absolute daggers at Annette and everyone who laughed at her words (which was everyone, so he was having a hard time keeping up with his glaring quota). Either way, Annette had very successfully managed to divert attention away from her own embarrassment.

Dimitri, meanwhile, was yet to let go of Dedue’s hand. It seemed foolish, almost, that he was so eager for such simple contact, and yet...he wanted nothing more than to hold on to Dedue for as long as he could.

As if sensing his thoughts, Dedue chose that moment to look down at him, a soft smile on his face. Dedue usually wasn’t one for parties, or big celebrations in general, and neither was Dimitri, but this was different. Usually neither of them liked shouting, or the excitement of being in a group, and celebrating didn’t come naturally to either of them at all.

But this was undoubtedly something to celebrate, and the time they were spending was a group was...fun. It had been quiet, somehow, when they hadn’t all been together, but Dimiti had barely even realised it until they were all back in the same room again. “This is nice,” he said. “I hope it’s okay for you as well, Dedue, I know you don’t usually-”

“The whole day has been perfect,” Dedue said, squeezing his hand. “Anything that celebrates today is fine with me, as long as I can stay beside you.”

Dimitri knew they were probably attracting stares from their guests, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, standing on his toes to kiss Dedue. “I feel the same,” he said. “I love you, Dedue.”

“I love you too, Dimitri,” came the reply. Seeing Dedue’s smile never, ever got stale. He could look at that smile forever. He could be happy hearing those words for the rest of his life.

For such a long time, happiness and contentment and a future had been so, so far away. Worlds away. Something that others had, but not him. Now, all those things were literally held in his hands, and Dimitri wouldn’t trade that for anything.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :) if you enjoyed, leaving a comment would be super appreciated (also I wrote and edited in a different way to normal so if there are any typos left in please feel free to let me know and I'll change em).


End file.
